Tag Archives: Telecom

Investment in the Philippines’ Leading Technology Company Supports Greater Financial Inclusion and Access to Mobile Internet for Filipinos

MANILA, Philippines–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct. 4, 2018– PLDT Inc. (NYSE: PHI|PSE: TEL), the leading telecommunications and digital services provider in the Philippines, global investment firm KKR (NYSE: KKR), and Tencent Holdings Ltd.(0700.HK), a leading provider of internet services in China, announced today the signing of agreements under which investors led by KKR and Tencent will separately subscribe to a total of up to US$175 million worth of newly-issued shares in Voyager Innovations, giving them a substantial minority stake in the Philippines’ leading digital technology company.

Upon the closing of the transaction, which is expected within the fourth quarter of 2018, PLDT will remain as the majority shareholder of Voyager Innovations. The agreements also contain provisions for Voyager Innovations to issue additional shares to other investors which, if this were to occur, would reduce PLDT’s ownership to less than 50% while still remaining as the largest shareholder.

The new external funding in Voyager Innovations marks the largest investment to date in a Philippine technology company. With the global expertise and fresh capital from the new investors, Voyager Innovations will enable greater access to mobile payments and the internet as a whole for the country’s population.

Voyager Innovations’ mission is to accelerate digital and financial inclusion in the Philippines and enable the broader Filipino population to participate in the digital economy. The company’s award-winning technology platforms support the following digital services:

PayMaya Business, the largest mobile acquiring service in the Philippines, enabling enterprises of all sizes to accept digital payments;

Smart Padala, the largest mobile-based remittance network in the Philippines;

Lendr, the largest digital lending platform in the Philippines; and,

freenet, the most popular rewards app for free access to the internet and apps in the Philippines.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, Chairman, President and CEO of PLDT, said: “Having global powerhouses such as KKR and Tencentas investors in Voyager Innovations demonstrates not only their confidence in the company’s ability to execute its vision, but also their confidence in the Philippine technology industry as a whole.”

Orlando B. Vea, President and CEO of Voyager Innovations, said: “This is a watershed moment not only for Voyager Innovations but also for the Philippines. With this investment by KKR and Tencent, we will trigger an inflection point in digital adoption and financial inclusion in the country.”

Terence Lee, Director on KKR’s Southeast Asia team, said: “We are excited about Voyager Innovations and to further invest behind online payments leaders in emerging markets. Voyager Innovations provides critical digital and financial services to millions of Filipinos looking to join the digital economy for work and play. We look forward to leveraging our industry expertise and resources to help enhance the company’s mission of financial inclusion and accelerate its growth at a time when the digital economy is more important than ever.”

KKR’s investment in Voyager Innovations is being funded from KKR Asian Fund III. The investment is KKR’s first private equity investment in the Philippines and is part of the firm’s strategy to invest in high-growth markets that the firm believes can benefit from a rapid increase in technology adoption. Other investments KKR has made in the technology and fintech sectors include Go-Jek (Indonesia’s leading on-demand mobile platform for ride hailing, food delivery, and mobile payments), Suishou Technology (one of China’s largest personal finance management platforms) and First Data (global payment technology and services solutions provider with a presence in 118 countries).

James Mitchell, Chief Strategy Officer of Tencent, said: “Voyager Innovations connects the growing smartphone population in the Philippines to online payments and financial services. Tencent is glad to support Voyager Innovations and to advance financial inclusion.”

The foregoing investment in Voyager Innovations is not subject to the compulsory merger notification regime under the Philippine Competition Act and its Implementing Rules and Regulations. In addition, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Philippines’ central bank, confirmed that it interposes no objection to the investment.

PLDT is the leading telecommunications provider in the Philippines. Through its principal business groups–fixed line and wireless–PLDT offers a wide range of telecommunications services across the Philippines’ most extensive fiber optic backbone and fixed line, and mobile network. PLDT is listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE: TEL) and its American Depositary Shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:PHI). PLDT has one of the largest market capitalizations among Philippine listed companies. Further information can be obtained by visiting the web at www.pldt.com.

ABOUT VOYAGER INNOVATIONS

Voyager Innovations is the leading technology company in the Philippines focused on developing customer-centric emerging market platforms in the areas of digital payments, digital finance, and marketing technologies. For more information, visit www.voyagerinnovation.com.

ABOUT KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate and credit, with strategic manager partnerships that manage hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns for its fund investors by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside the capital it manages for fund investors and provides financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

ABOUT TENCENT

Tencent uses technology to enrich the lives of Internet users. Our social products WeChat and QQ link our users to a rich digital content catalogue including games, video, music and books. Our proprietary targeting technology helps advertisers reach out to hundreds of millions of consumers in China. Our infrastructure services including payment, security, cloud and artificial intelligence create differentiated offerings and support our partners’ business growth. Tencent invests heavily in people and innovation, enabling us to evolve with the Internet.

Tencent was founded in Shenzhen, China, in 1998. Shares of Tencent (0700.HK) are traded on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.

Investment further strengthens ambition of United Group as the regional leader in communication and media

KKR maintaining substantial minority stake

LONDON & AMSTERDAM–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sep. 27, 2018– Funds advised by BC Partners (“BC Partners”), a leading international investment firm, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement whereby BC Partners will acquire majority ownership of United Group B.V. (“United Group”) from KKR, a leading global investment firm. KKR will retain a substantial minority stake. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and the transaction is subject to relevant regulatory approvals.

United Group is the leading media and communication services provider across South East Europe. Through significant investments in digital infrastructure, content and proprietary technology, it provides market-leading services to its customers across the region. Over the past 18 years the Group has expanded its presence through both organic growth and acquisitions, now employing over 3,400 staff and providing services to over 1.8m homes.

Nikos Stathopoulos, Partner at BC Partners said: “We are delighted to partner with United Group’s management team and KKR to support the company’s next phase of growth. United Group is a high-quality asset, with defensive growth characteristics, leading infrastructure, differentiated content and loyal customers. Its attractive and integrated business model and regional leadership position it well for further organic and acquisitive growth.”

Since its investment in 2014, KKR has supported United Group to build the company into the leading provider of communications and media services in South Eastern Europe. United Group’s fibre and cable networks have the largest presence in the region, covering 1.82m homes which benefit from broadband speeds over 2.6x higher than local peers and high quality local and international content.

Jean-Pierre Saad, Managing Director at KKR said: “We are proud of the way in which United Group has developed over the last five years. It is a great example of a truly convergent operator across communications and media with market leading product innovation and services. We will remain closely committed to the further development of United Group and are looking forward to working with BC Partners and the management team to further strengthen the company’s growth.”

Morgan Stanley and LionTree are acting as advisers to BC Partners while Credit-Suisse is advising United Group.

-ENDS-

About BC Partners

BC Partners is a leading international investment firm with over EUR18 billion of assets under management in private equity and private credit. Established in 1986, BC Partners has played an active role in developing the European buy-out market for three decades. Today, BC Partners executives operate across markets as an integrated team through the firm’s offices in North America and Europe.

Since inception, BC Partners Private Equity has completed 104 private equity investments in companies with a total enterprise value of €129 billion and is currently investing its tenth private equity fund. On the Private Credit front BC Partners Credit is currently investing Special Opportunities Fund I. For more information, please visit www.bcpartners.com.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate and credit, with strategic manager partnerships that manage hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns for its fund investors by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside the capital it manages for fund investors and provides financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

Cignal, Ireland’s fastest growing provider of telecommunications infrastructure, has today announced it has refinanced and expanded its financing facility, which will provide funding to support the expansion of its network of telecoms and broadband communications towers.

Cignal’s acquisition of Coillte’s tower portfolio in 2015 was supported by an initial €31.5m facility. This is now being refinanced and expanded to €65m, providing additional funding to be invested in new telecoms and broadband communications towers to address coverage blackspots throughout Ireland.
Bank of Ireland, who have been a lender to Cignal since the company was set up in 2015, acted as lead arranger for the new facilities along with AIB who are now a joint lender to the business.
Cignal recently announced that it had spent €15m on acquiring and building new telecoms and broadband communications towers in the past 18 months, giving it a portfolio in over 500 key locations across urban and rural Ireland.

Cignal’s CEO Colin Cunningham said:
“We are very pleased to have refinanced and enlarged our banking facility to ensure that we have capital to support our expansion plans. Having invested €15m in acquisitions and new tower developments in the past 18 months, the new bank facility will support the next phase in our growth plans’’

Cignal’s Chairman Donal O’Shaughnessy said:
‘’This development shows our commitment to provide valuable infrastructure to help provide telecoms and broadband services to local communities. The support shown by both Bank of Ireland and AIB has provided us with a flexible and enlarged facility thus ensuring we can continue to build telecoms infrastructure in the areas where it is needed most.’’
Maurice Healy, Director, Corporate Banking, Bank of Ireland said
“Lending to high quality Irish infrastructure assets is an attractive proposition and we are delighted to act as lead arranger in this enlarged lending facility for Cignal. Given the clear demand for enhanced and expanded mobile and broadband coverage across Ireland we are very comfortable with the expansion plans that Cignal have outlined to us, which will help improve coverage and speeds for mobile and broadband users across Ireland.”
The refinancing has been supported by its majority shareholder Infravia Capital Partners, a specialist infrastructure investor managing over €4bn in assets. In Ireland Infravia has acquired hospital group the Mater Private and nursing homes operator CareChoice.

Infravia Partner, Bruno Candes said:
“Infravia Capital Partners are delighted that these new facilities are now in place to support the continued growth trajectory of Cignal since we invested to support the Coillte transaction in 2015. The Cignal team have a clear roadmap to build its portfolio of towers and Infravia and both Bank of Ireland and AIB have shown their commitment to supporting this expansion”

Cignal now has 18% of the Irish market for infrastructure supporting mobile, fixed wireless broadband communications and broadcast services, with a customer base that includes all the main mobile services providers in Ireland, the emergency services and FM radio stations. Cignal is committed to further investment in the construction of new towers, and acquisitions as the market continues to consolidate.

About Cignal
Cignal is Ireland’s newest provider of telecommunications infrastructure. It launched its business in 2015 with the acquisition of a portfolio of 400 tower from Irish state forestry company Coillte, and through further acquisitions and expansion now has a portfolio of over 500 towers. Cignal specialises in maximising the efficient use of tower infrastructure through hosting the equipment of multiple operators on its sites, thereby reducing costs for users and reducing the proliferation of unnecessary towers. Cignal’s main shareholders are specialist infrastructure investor Infravia Capital Partners and telecoms infrastructure veteran Donal O’Shaughnessy who also serves as Chairman of the company. The company has ambitious plans for further investment to expand its network and improve mobile and broadband coverage throughout Ireland in areas poorly served today. www.cignal.ie

During EQT ownership, Tampnet has grown significantly with revenues and EBITDA increasing more than threefold, the number of employees increasing twentyfold, while at the same time successfully closing and integrating strategic acquisitions and investing in offshore communication infrastructure within existing and new offshore regions

Network infrastructure expansion achieved with more than 1,700km of fiber and over 60 4G/LTE base stations added to the network across multiple countries and offshore regions, delivering high capacity services and enabling digitization of the oil&gas and offshore industries

The EQT Infrastructure I and EQT Infrastructure II funds (together “EQT Infrastructure”) have entered into a definitive agreement to sell Tampnet AS (“Tampnet”) to 3i Infrastructure plc, a listed long-term investor in infrastructure businesses and assets, and ATP, Denmark’s largest pension provider.

Tampnet was acquired by EQT Infrastructure in November 2012 and is the only independent owner, operator and provider of high capacity, low latency offshore communication infrastructure. The strategy has revolved around investing to drive development of the offshore fiber-backed communication infrastructure network and roll-out new low latency wireless communication (4G/LTE) to enable digitization and remote operations of the oil and gas industry and expand Tampnet’s business model geographically.

Per Helge Svensson, CEO of Tampnet, comments: “Together with EQT, Tampnet has been able to invest significantly to build a world-class organization while expanding its offshore infrastructure communication network into new geographies. We continue to see strong demand for our services, largely driven by the digitization of the oil and gas industry and the essentiality of robust communication infrastructure, and look forward to entering the next phase of growth together with our new owners.”

Masoud Homayoun, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Infrastructure, adds: “Since 2012, Tampnet has undergone an extraordinary transformation to become the largest global independent owner and operator of offshore fiber-backed communication infrastructure. Management and the entire Tampnet team have done a fantastic job. With the ever-increasing demand for connectivity and data bandwidth driven by digitization in the offshore industry, Tampnet continues to be well positioned to grow and serve its customers with superior services.”

During EQT Infrastructure´s ownership, Tampnet successfully entered its second offshore region in the Gulf of Mexico and expanded its existing network in the North Sea into several new offshore areas. Several new services were launched, and three strategic add-ons acquisitions were successfully completed and integrated. With these initiatives, Tampnet has grown more than threefold in revenues and EBITDA from 2012 to 2018.

The sale is conditional on customary approvals from governmental and regulatory bodies in several jurisdictions, including the Federal Communications Commission in the US, and is expected to close in 2019.

About EQTEQT is a leading investment firm with approximately EUR 50 billion in raised capital across 27 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

About TampnetTampnet is the only independent supplier of high capacity and low latency communication to offshore installations in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The company operates the world’s largest offshore fiber-backed communication infrastructure network, serving more than 300 oil and gas platforms, units, FPSO’s and exploration rigs.

About 3i Infrastructure plc3i Infrastructure plc is a Jersey-incorporated, closed-ended investment company, listed on the London Stock Exchange and regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission. The Company is a long-term investor in infrastructure businesses and assets. The Company’s market focus is on economic infrastructure and greenfield projects in developed economies, principally in Europe, investing in operating businesses and projects which generate long-term yield and capital growth.

3i Investments plc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of 3i Group plc, is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority and acts as Investment Adviser to 3i Infrastructure plc.

About ATP GroupATP is Denmark’s largest pension and social security provider and one of Europe’s largest pension providers, with more than €100 billion assets under management invested in bonds, equities, real estate and infrastructure assets, among others. In recent years, ATP has made significant investments in vital infrastructure such as the Copenhagen Airport, the renewable energy company DONG Energy, now Orsted as well as the telecommunication company TDC.

ATP also administers key welfare benefits and schemes on behalf of the Danish state, the local authorities in Denmark and the social partners. ATP is the largest administration provider in the Nordic countries, managing two thirds of welfare benefits disbursed in Denmark.

Oakley Capital Private Equity II (“Fund II”) is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement to sell its stake in Damovo Group (“Damovo”), a leading independent European unified communications and collaboration (“UC&C”) company, to UK Atlanta Holdings LLC. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, values Damovo at up to €140 million, comprising an upfront consideration of €115 million and further consideration of up to €25 million, dependent on Damovo’s financial performance in the year to 31 January 2019.

Oakley invested in Damovo in 2015, in a proprietary deal that was sourced via Oakley’s network of business founders and management teams, as is typical for Oakley investments. Matthew Riley, the successful UK entrepreneur and founder of Daisy, another Oakley portfolio company, identified the opportunity to acquire Damovo in a complex carve out. The underlying business units which were in need of new investment, were consolidated into one combined and cohesive company.

Under Oakley’s ownership, Damovo has been transformed into a recognised European specialist in delivering and managing critical UC&C solutions for enterprise and public-sector organisations. The business has returned to organic growth by winning and delivering large, multi-year managed services contracts, and this has been supported by the integration of three strategic acquisitions. This growth, as well as a more efficient group structure put in place by the experienced management team, has lead to the business more than doubling EBITDA since Oakley’s initial investment.

“We would like to thank Matthew Riley, Glen Williams, Stuart Hall and the team for their tireless work in transforming the business over the past three years. Damovo is now a very well-respected and competitive player in the growing European market. It has the highest levels of vendor accreditation and has won a number of awards for its excellent customer service. We are proud of the part we have played in its evolution, with the business ideally positioned for its next phase.”

A team from EY led by Richard Harding and Olivier Wolf carried out vendor due diligence services for Damovo.

Montagu Private Equity (“Montagu”), a leading pan-European private equity firm, and CVC Capital Partners (“CVC”) today announce that they have reached an agreement for Montagu to acquire Wireless Logic Group (“Wireless Logic” or “the company”), Europe’s leading smart connectivity platform provider, from CVC’s Growth Fund. The Wireless Logic sale represents the first exit for CVC’s Growth Fund. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Wireless Logic was established in the UK in 2000 and provides businesses with specialist Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) platform services across mobile, satellite, low-power wireless, and fixed line networks. The company’s services enable smart connectivity for applications and devices, creating two-way communication across secure private networks. The platform gives organisations of all sizes the ability to access highly complex and secure IT infrastructure with zero capital cost, thus creating unrivalled opportunities for new and innovative IoT solutions.

Today, Wireless Logic is a market leader in IoT and M2M platform managed services in Europe, with over 2,500 customers and over 3.1 million subscriptions. It has the technology, scale and geographical breadth to provide comprehensive connectivity solutions to a large number of customers and applications across Europe with a global reach. Headquartered in Hurley, Berkshire, the company operates across Europe with country offices in the UK, Denmark, France, Germany and Spain.

During the CVC Growth Fund’s period of investment, Wireless Logic has continued its impressive organic growth trajectory, supplemented by several strategic acquisitions. Montagu intends to work with the management team to continue to drive growth, leveraging Montagu’s experience, network and resources to further strengthen the business.

Oliver Tucker, Co-founder and Group CEO of Wireless Logic, said: “We are delighted to welcome Montagu into the Wireless Logic Group. Under the stewardship of the CVC Growth Fund, we have continued our double-digit organic growth which has been complemented by four acquisitions in the UK, Germany and Denmark, with each introducing key new technologies and skillsets into the group business. As we thank CVC for its partnership and counsel, the group board is looking forward to a bright, ambitious and exciting future with Montagu as we set about continuing our strategy to make Wireless Logic Group into a truly world-class platform offering.”

Ed Shuckburgh, Director of Montagu, said: “We are highly impressed by the quality and achievements of the management team, who have founded and developed the business to become Europe’s leading M2M and IoT connectivity platform provider in under 20 years. We look forward to partnering with them to support the company’s continued expansion to meet the rapidly growing demand for smart connectivity solutions.”

Aaron Dupuis, Senior Managing Director of CVC, said: “We have had a tremendous partnership with Oliver and his team. We have been proud to be part of the continued success of Wireless Logic and wish the team all the best as they embark on the next phase of the journey.”

The company and the CVC Growth Fund were advised by William Blair, Fried Frank, Deloitte and OC&C. Montagu was advised by Arma Partners, Morgan Stanley and Freshfields.

LONDON & PARIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announces that KKR has entered into an exclusivity agreement with Altice France to acquire a stake of 49.99 per cent in the to be formed tower company, SFR TowerCo. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals in France and is expected to close in Q4 2018.

SFR TowerCo will comprise of 10,198 sites across France currently operated by SFR. KKR’s financial and operational support will help drive the continued growth and development of the company’s portfolio, strengthening its position as a leading telecom infrastructure provider in France. The transaction will give SFR TowerCo an enterprise value of €3.6 billion.

Under the terms of the deal, KKR and Altice France will partner to develop the largest independent TowerCo in France. The partnership with Altice further demonstrates KKR’s extensive experience investing in the telecommunication infrastructure sector, supporting the development of digital connectivity required for modern societies. Last year, KKR acquired a stake in Telxius, a leading critical telecom infrastructure owner and service provider in Europe and the Americas.

Vincent Policard, Member at KKR in the European Infrastructure team, said: “KKR is proud to be the preferred partner for Altice and SFR based on our strong experience in telecom infrastructure, our shared outlook for the sector and our track record in structuring partnerships alongside corporates.”

The investment is being funded by KKR’s global infrastructure funds.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit and, through its strategic partners, hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside its partners’ capital and provides financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. L.P. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

Seoul, Korea — Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group (“Carlyle”, NASDAQ: CG) today announced it has agreed to sell ADT Caps, the second largest security services provider in Korea, to SK Telecom (“SKT”, KRW:017670) and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (“MIRA”) for KRW 2,970 billion (USD 2.76 billion). SKT is the largest telecommunication operator in Korea and MIRA is one of the largest infrastructure asset managers globally. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2018.

The Carlyle Group acquired ADT Caps through Carlyle Asia Partners IV and Carlyle Partners VI in 2014 from Tyco. During Carlyle’s ownership, ADT Caps drove top-line growth through new product introductions, cross-selling, and channel development, and improved operating efficiencies by reducing false signals per account and dispatches per account, while upgrading service quality through technological development. By partnering with Jinhwan Choi, CEO of ADT Caps and the management team, Carlyle has supported the business to become the most profitable security services player in Korea.

Sanghyun Lee, Managing Director of The Carlyle Group, said, “ADT Caps is a great example of Carlyle’s ability to create value through operational improvements and partnering with excellent management teams. It is an honor to have had such a journey with thousands of experts who make Korea a safer place. I am glad that we found the SKT-MIRA consortium as ADT Caps’ strong new partner.”

Jinhwan Choi, CEO of ADT Caps, said, “The Carlyle Group has been a fantastic partner for ADT Caps and our management team over the last four years as we have re-established our security services leadership in Korea. The acquisition by the SKT-MIRA consortium provides the business and the management with a phenomenal opportunity to continue delivering best-in-class central monitoring services to our customers, leveraging SKT’s leading AI and IoT technology.”

Carlyle has invested more than US$1.5 billion of equity in more than 20 transactions in Korea as of March 31, 2018.

* * * * *

About The Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager with $201 billion of assets under management across 324 investment vehicles as of March 31, 2018. Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, many of whom are public pensions. Carlyle invests across four segments – Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Credit and Investment Solutions – in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,575 people in 31 offices across six continents.

ADT Caps is a provider of advanced security solutions in Korea, serving more than 427,000 customers through a network of 69 branches nationwide. The business provides central monitoring services, with video surveillance and dispatch, access control and other customized security solutions as well as guarding services. The business is headquartered in Seoul, Korea, with approximately 7,500 employees.

Combination of Spirit Communications and Lumos Networks Will Create a Super-Regional Fiber Bandwidth Provider Operating in Nine States in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast

Waynesboro, Va., and Columbia, S.C., April 10, 2018 – Lumos Networks Corp. (“Lumos”) and Spirit Communications (“Spirit”) announced today that the EQT Infrastructure III fund (“EQT Infrastructure”) has completed its majority stake investment in Spirit. With the transaction complete, Spirit will be combined with Lumos, which was acquired in November of 2017.

The combination of Spirit and Lumos creates a super-regional fiber network stretching from Pittsburgh to Atlanta, with the vast majority of revenue and fiber network concentrated in the high-growth markets of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Together, Spirit and Lumos will operate a network of approximately 21,000 fiber route miles and well over one million total fiber strand miles. The combined business will have over 9,000 on-net locations, comprised of approximately 4,500 on-net enterprise locations and more than 4,500 unique contracted fiber to the cell (“FTTC”) locations.

Jan Vesely, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT Infrastructure, said, “The combination of Spirit and Lumos has strong industrial logic and immediately creates a leading fiber bandwidth platform in the United States. Both companies share many of the same attributes that EQT seeks in its infrastructure investments. We are very much looking forward to supporting the combined business in its ambitious growth plans and working alongside Spirit’s Member Companies.”

Timothy G. Biltz, President and CEO of Lumos, will serve as the CEO of the combined company. Robert Keane, President and CEO of Spirit prior to the combination, and Brian Singleton, CEO of TruVista and Chairman of the Spirit Board of Directors prior to the combination, will serve on the combined company’s Board of Directors.

“Spirit and Lumos have similar operating strategies, our fiber footprint is contiguous with very little overlap and we share the same tireless focus on providing an excellent customer experience,” said Mr. Biltz. “Quite simply, we belong together. We are excited that EQT had the vision to execute on its plan to create a platform that is, based on a number of metrics, the largest independent fiber bandwidth company in the U.S.”

Robert Keane, former CEO of Spirit, said, “In an industry where most combinations are focused on eliminating cost benefits, this business combination is born out of expectations for revenue growth. We now have twice the footprint to reach more of our customers’ locations, and we expect to utilize both companies’ product portfolios to cross-sell these services across the expansive combined enterprise base.”

“I look forward to working closely with Bob Keane and Brian Singleton, who will both play an important role on our Board of Directors alongside the existing board members,” added Doug Gilstrap, Chairman of the Board of the combined entity. “Collectively, we will strive to maintain our focus on excellent customer experience by increasing our offerings of products and services while continuing the investments required to build a fiber network with world-class reliability and performance.”

Mr. Biltz concluded, “I would like to conclude with a very special thank you to the approximately 900 combined employees from Lumos and Spirit for their ingenuity, sacrifice and devotion to solving our customers’ problems and building a world-class fiber network with world-class performance and metrics. The best is yet to come.”

About EQTEQT is a leading investment firm with approximately EUR 49 billion in raised capital across 26 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

About the Combination of Spirit Communications and Lumos NetworksThe combination of Spirit Communications and Lumos Networks creates a super-regional fiber bandwidth network with over 21,000 miles of fiber and more than 9,000 on-net locations across nine states in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast United States. The new entity offers a full range of Ethernet, MPLS, dark fiber, advanced voice and cloud services to thousands of carrier, enterprise, data center and government customers. The entity also connects 44 total data centers, including 12 co-location and data centers.

EQT Infrastructure is committed to actively supporting Broadnet in its pursuit of growth and continued operational improvement opportunities

The EQT Infrastructure III fund (“EQT Infrastructure”) has agreed to acquire Broadnet Holding AS (“Broadnet” or the “Company”) from the EQT V and VI funds.

Broadnet controls ~24,000km of fiber through its nationwide backbone network in addition to expansive regional as well as local networks, connecting more than 90 cities across Norway. The Company has grown to become the leading independent fiber-based datacom provider in the Norwegian B2B market (~85% of sales), but also serves the B2C market through its HomeNet brand (~15% of sales). The product offering includes VPN, Internet, Ethernet and dedicated capacity to both the wholesale market and to end-customers. The customer base includes some of the largest Norwegian enterprises as well as other telecom operators and consumers.

EQT Infrastructure will support the continued development of Broadnet and assist the Company in its pursuit of new opportunities to grow and commercialize its extensive fiber network assets. Moreover, the value creation strategy is focused on realization of identified operational improvement opportunities, for instance automation and customer service initiatives.

Daniel Pérez, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT Infrastructure, said: “Broadnet was created under the ownership of EQT V/VI and has developed into a leader in the highly attractive Norwegian fiber infrastructure market under the leadership of CEO Martin Lippert. We are excited about the prospects of the Company and thrilled with the opportunity to support Martin and his team with their growth and development plans going forward.”

Martin Lippert, CEO of Broadnet said: “The sale of Broadnet is another proof of our success over the last years. We have, through hard work from all employees and support from our owners, positioned Broadnet as a market leader within fiber infrastructure. We will continue the journey through further development of infrastructure and by providing outstanding customer experiences in the years to come. Broadnet is ideally positioned to take further market shares in a growing Norwegian fiber market, with the backing of our new owner who has extensive experience from our industry.”

About EQTEQT is a leading investment firm with approximately EUR 49 billion in raised capital across 26 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

About BroadnetBroadnet is the largest alternative Datacom provider in Norway. The company controls one of two optical fiber networks in Norway in addition to a substantial regional and local network. The group consist of two brands: Broadnet, serving the business and wholesale market, and HomeNet, serving the consumer market

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